Amber Jewelry Necklace

Polish artisans have more than 80 names to describe types of amber, from flame and honey to clouded and woolly. Often found along the Baltic Sea, amber has been popular in jewelry for centuries. The necklace features translucent amber in an art deco frame. Handcrafted in Gdynia, Poland.

In 1701, Prussian King Frederick I commissioned an ornate room made from tons of translucent Baltic amber. Later, the intricate panels passed into Russian hands, and Catherine the Great installed them in her summer home in Tsarskoye Selo (now Pushkin). They were looted during the German invasion of Russia in World War II, but disappeared in the aftermath of the war. Their location remains one of the art world's greatest mysteries. This captivating treasure engages the imagination, and you can carry a connection to this intriguing tale with you as a lightweight amber locket. Accented with sterling silver and carved by hand in Poland.

Amber captivated ancient cultures long before its origins were understood. Some thought it was sunshine made solid. Others believed it was the fallen tears of the gods. It wasn’t until the Roman author Pliny wrote his Historia Naturalis in A.D. 77 that it was thought of as a plant material. As the fossilized resin of 40-million-year-old trees, amber is one of the only gems that isn’t a mineral. In Baltic cultures, it’s a traditional gift for a bride from her parents, and is passed down through generations of women. This necklace showcases smooth amber in a range of its natural, untreated hues, from milky honey white to opaque brown-black.

According to Lithuanian legend, amber is the tears of the sea goddess, Jurate, who mourns her lover, the fisherman Kastytis. The thunder god, Perkunas, was enraged that a goddess fell in love with a mortal, and punished her by drowning Kastytis and destroying Jurate’s undersea amber palace, pieces of which are said to wash up on Baltic shores to this day. The story has been told in poems, ballets, and even a rock opera. Our necklace of Baltic amber slivers pays homage to this star-crossed romance.

Ancient Lithuanians called amber gintaras, which means “protector.” They believed it had healing properties, and indeed it may. When trees are damaged, they heal themselves with resin. When those trees become fossilized over millions of years, that healing resin is what we harvest as amber. The lightweight, natural “gem” is plentiful along the Baltic Sea. It comes in shades ranging from lemon yellow to honey to dark coffee, all of which are showcased in this long strand from Lithuania.

The ancient Greeks believed that when Apollo was banished from Mount Olympus, he mourned his exile with tears of golden amber. Today, people around the world cherish this jewel-like fossilized tree resin. Most of the earth's amber deposits are between 30 and 50 million years old, and pieces of this prehistoric treasure occasionally wash up along the coast of the Baltic Sea. This delicate filament necklace pairs gem-quality Baltic amber with delicate golden-colored wire. Light as air, the adjustable length makes this especially easy to pair a variety of necklines.

About 40 million years ago, the translucent amber in this earthy necklace was pine resin flowing within trees along the shores of present-day Poland. There, in the region of Pomerania, amber beads are handed down through generations and are considered amulets against harm. A Polish artisan gathers these authentic fossilized gems, frames them in sterling silver, and pairs them with a sinuous snake chain.

Nomadic Himalayan tribes wore their wealth in the form of jewelryoften turquoise, called gyu in Tibetanthat could be easily carried and exchanged. So highly regarded is turquoise in Tibetan culture that the blue of the sky is referred to as ''the turquoise of heaven.'' Using faux versions of turquoise and amber, Tibetan refugees living in India create this substantial and bold jewelry in a Mongolian-influenced but modern style.

Along the coastline of the Baltic Sea, winter storms cast up pieces of amber from the seabed. Locals gather it from the shore like seashells, and since this natural gem floats in saltwater, it can be scooped from the water’s surface with a net. These simple accents showcase amber’s translucence and toffee hue, framed in oxidized sterling silver.

Often found along Baltic shores, amber is the fossilized resin of prehistoric trees and is among the oldest and most prized materials in human adornment. Ancient Chinese lore tells that when tigers die, their souls become amber. In Old Norse tradition, amber symbolized the tears of the goddess of love.